# What are your favority 80's one hit wonder songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 1, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032 "2004-10-01T15:26:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/1 "2004-10-01T15:26:00Z")
No fair using anyone who actually had some legs and made it out of the 80’s. Just the flash in the pans. Exceptions can be made for early 90’s songs with an 80’s feel to them, I suppose… As I mentioned in the _Name your “guilty pleasure” song_ thread, mine is **Heart & Soul** by T’Pau. I’m also partial to the Salieri mix of **Rock Me Amadeus** , by the late great Falco. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/2 "2004-10-01T15:29:27Z")
> [@Dante](#): > > No fair using anyone who actually had some legs and made it out of the 80’s. Just the flash in the pans. Exceptions can be made for early 90’s songs with an 80’s feel to them, I suppose… > > As I mentioned in the _Name your “guilty pleasure” song_ thread, mine is **Heart & Soul** by T’Pau. I’m also partial to the Salieri mix of **Rock Me Amadeus** , by the late great Falco. if we’re talking T’Pau, I preferred **china in your hand** ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/3 "2004-10-01T15:46:20Z")
“Tarzan Boy” by Baltimora (R.I.P.) “Voices Carry” by Til Tuesday – they had one more song that barely snuck into the lower reaches of the Billboard Top 40 Singles chart, but “Voices Carry” is the one song that band in known for. Bassist Aimee Mann has since had a successful solo career. “Perfect Way” by Scritti Politti (sp?) ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/4 "2004-10-01T15:46:58Z")
Not exactly one-hit wonders, but my favorite 80’s song by a band that debuted in the 80s and did not last long is: **Men At Work** - _Down Under_ ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Sayid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jack\_Sayid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Sayid)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/5 "2004-10-01T15:56:47Z")
**Icicle Works** _Birds Fly (Whisper to a scream)_ ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/6 "2004-10-01T15:57:11Z")
**The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades** - Timbuk Three ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/7 "2004-10-01T16:01:50Z")
“The Safety Dance” is pretty much the pinnacle of human culture. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/8 "2004-10-01T16:03:46Z")
Echo and the Bunnymen, with their cover of “People Are Strange”… ---
**Author:** ![biqu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/9 "2004-10-01T16:08:22Z")
_Take on Me_ by A-Ha (I hope that’s the right capitalization of the band name; I’m too lazy to look it up right now.) ---
**Author:** ![Sweetums](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Sweetums](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweetums)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/10 "2004-10-01T16:13:09Z")
“I Melt With You” by Modern English! I have always considered this the ultimate one hit wonder song, since many people I know don’t even know the name of the song, and simply call it “Modern English”. ``` Which I guess is better than folks knowibng the name of the song and not the group ``` ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/11 "2004-10-01T16:14:02Z")
**Jane’s Getting Serious** by Simon Townshend (Pete’s Brother) **The Promise** by When in Rome, featuring Midge Ure There are plenty others, but those two come immediately to mind… ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/12 "2004-10-01T16:14:15Z")
> [@biqu](#): > > _Take on Me_ by A-Ha (I hope that’s the right capitalization of the band name; I’m too lazy to look it up right now.) I was going to say that! The video also has warm, nostalgic place in my heart. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/13 "2004-10-01T16:16:33Z")
“I Want Candy” by Bow-Wow-Wow. Did Katrina and the Waves do anything besides “Walking on Sunshine?” Who did “Turning Japanese”? I don’t think they had any other hits. “Puttin’ on the Ritz” … who did that? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/14 "2004-10-01T16:17:59Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > Who did “Turning Japanese”? I don’t think they had any other hits. > > “Puttin’ on the Ritz” … who did that? The Vapors and Taco, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/15 "2004-10-01T16:23:22Z")
_Danny Wilson_ **Mary’s Prayer**. Although the name sounds like one guy it was a band - named after the Sinatra movie _Meet Danny Wilson_. The bright boy behind the band was Gary Clark. The song is a pop classic - well written, beautifully performed and with tremendous production values. Whenever I listen to the song I marvel at the fact that these guys, with all this musical talent, basically amounted to nothing. Find a copy, put on the headphones and pay attention to all the clever little musical phrases. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/16 "2004-10-01T16:26:59Z")
Several of these are by groups who were one-hit wonders only in the U.S. and much bigger elsewhere, but that’s life. “Goody Two-Shoes” Adam Ant “I Wanna Be a Cowboy” Boys Don’t Cry “Too Shy” Kajagoogoo “88 Lines About 44 Women” The Nails “Life in a Northern Town” The Dream Academy “I Eat Cannibals” Total Coelo “Under the Milky Way” The Church BTW, virtually every song mentioned in this thread is available in the _Living in Oblivion, The 80s Greatest Hits_ series. An absolute must for any car journey. ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/17 "2004-10-01T16:44:56Z")
**Wall of Voodoo** : _Mexican Radio_ …eating barbequed iguana. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/18 "2004-10-01T17:05:17Z")
“Walking A Fine Line” by Johansen “Life’s What You Make It” by Talk Talk “Smoke Two Joints” by The Toyes (which I just found after looking for it for 22 years!) “Walking On Sunshine” by Katrina & The Waves" “Black Man Ray” by China Crisis - there are definitely more, but I gotta run. I’ll post more after Birthday Dinner. ---
**Author:** ![bafaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@bafaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bafaa)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/19 "2004-10-01T17:19:29Z")
**Come on Eileen** by Dexy’s Midnight Runners ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032/20 "2004-10-01T17:21:28Z")
I know 95 % of of the songs mentioned here. Blame radio station CFNY–this is exactly what they used to play. The eighties: when “alternative” _meant_ something! 🙂 I’ll add: _Jet Town_ by **SSQ**. Still trying to find the album on CD, vinyl, P2P, anywhere. Had a cassette way back when, but it died. _Echo Beach_ by **Martha and the Muffins** (later **M+M**. his group was not really a one-hit wonder, but this their most famous song. Still available on CD (I saw it last week at Sam’s). _Smiling Monarchs_ by the **Abecedarians**. And you don’t want to know how long it took me to find out how to spell their name… _Oh Yeah_ by **Yello**. It was getting airpley here well before it was used in _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favority-80s-one-hit-wonder-songs/267032.md?page=2)